STRATEGIC SELF-PROMOTION AND COMPETITOR DEROGATION - SEX AND CONTEXT EFFECTS ON THE PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS OF MATE ATTRACTION TACTICS

In this article, 7 evolutionary hypotheses about the context-specific nature of mate attraction effectiveness were empirically tested and su pported. In the context of short-term mating, for example, men have fa ced the adaptive problem of finding sexually accessible women. As a re sult, men express a; preference for sexually availability in short-ter m mates. In Studies 1 and 2, separate groups of undergraduate particip ants judged sexual availability tactics as most effective when used by women seeking short-term mates, confirming the hypothesized link betw een the judged effectiveness of mate attraction tactics used by one se x and the expressed mate preferences of the other. Showing resource po tential was judged most effective for men seeking a long-term mate, wh ereas giving resources immediately was judged most effective for men s eeking short-term mates, confirming the hypothesized importance of tem poral context in mate attraction effectiveness. Discussion focuses on the context-specificity of human mating psychology and on linking evol utionary and traditional approaches to romantic attraction.